


i tried to do handstands (for you)

by spicyboyfriend



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Drinking, Gyms, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22554697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicyboyfriend/pseuds/spicyboyfriend
Summary: As soon as Minseok made to walk over to Lu Han, he could already feel his knees starting to buckle. Despite his best attempts to pull the emergency stop on the machine, Lu Han’s legs gave out underneath him, and a second after, he was on the floor of the gym, staring up at the ceiling, wondering why he was the way he was.
Relationships: Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65
Collections: EXO-M Fic Fest R2





	i tried to do handstands (for you)

**Author's Note:**

> why hi, i wrote this fic in like two days and it's 100% self indulgent sexy-minseok-focused
> 
> that being said, i claimed prompt #32: Luhan knows he's athletic — he's good at soccer, he's good at basketball. So why is it that whenever he sees hot fitness instructor Minseok, his legs seem to stop working?
> 
> title comes from [bruises by chairlift](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ9hLOHj8ag)

On a daily basis, Lu Han would get about three or four comments about how healthy he was for going to the gym regularly. Sometimes, he ended up working himself  _ ragged  _ until it was time for him to leave, but only Lu Han knew his real motivations for going to the gym almost every day.

Well, Lu Han and Jongdae.

At first, it really did start out for his health. Lu Han found himself getting winded at the smallest of tasks, from running up some stairs to walking down the street a little faster than normal, and even as far as the sports he liked to casually play. Jongdae had commented on how Lu Han was getting tired quicker when they played basketball, and that was the last straw for him. From there, Lu Han religiously started going to the gym, every day for at least an hour, and worked as hard as he could before he was forced to go home, shower, and take a quick nap.

That being said, Lu Han would be lying if he said he wasn’t going for any other... “reasons”.

See, Lu Han prided himself on being a little fitter than he was before. He didn’t compare himself to others (often), but there was one instructor at the gym that Lu Han just couldn’t help losing his breath over every single time he caught sight of him.

The first time it happened was when Lu Han was spotting Jongdae at the bench press. The instructor came out from a separate room, swinging the door open as sweat rolled down the sides of his face. He grinned and grabbed the hands of the older woman he was instructing, shaking them in victory together, before congratulating her and sending her on her way. Lu Han completely focused on this instructor, on the gleam in his eyes and the pure smile on his face... while Jongdae screeched for help behind him, the weights clearly too heavy for him just yet.

For a brief second, the instructor looked up at Lu Han, then behind him. Lu Han froze, unsure of how to react. The man then ran up to help Jongdae, who breathed a sigh of relief before standing up and punching Lu Han in the arm.

“You okay, Jongdae?” the stranger said, Lu Han still stunned into silence. His right knee buckled, as Lu Han shot his hand out to steady himself on Jongdae.

“Yeah, I’m all good. I didn’t know you were working today,” Jongdae replied. Lu Han darted his gaze to Jongdae, eyes going wide, as if imploring him to introduce Lu Han to this gorgeous stranger. “Ugh, Minseok-hyung, this is Lu Han. Lu Han, this is Minseok.”

Lu Han hardly had time to react as Minseok turned his attention from Jongdae, to Lu Han, all sweat soaked and smiles. With his hair pulled back in a mini ponytail, Lu Han could see the plump roundness of his cheeks, Lu Han resisted the urge to bite his lip and instead, bowed too quickly, nervously shouting his name out while Minseok laughed and bowed his head just slightly.

“Nice to meet you, Lu Han. I’m Minseok.”

Lu Han swallowed hard as he stood up straight, unsure where to look, unsure what to do with his hands, or like, any part of him, because Minseok’s presence alone was so intimidatingly sexy. Lu Han just wanted to walk away and excuse himself for the rest of the day. Now, Jongdae and Minseok were back to chatting, apparently really good friends, while Lu Han awkwardly stood there, fiddling with his fingers and looking around the room like a distracted child.

“I’m actually off for the rest of the day,” Minseok said, jutting his thumb behind him. “I’m about to shower off this grime and head home, so I’ll see you guys around.” 

Minseok looked over at Lu Han, speaking to him before Lu Han could process what was happening. 

“Try not to kill my friend by being a bad spotter, Lu Han,” he teased, ending his sentence with a wink before taking his leave and heading to the employee room to gather his things. Jongdae said his goodbyes, before punching Lu Han’s shoulder again.

“Seriously, dude, I could’ve died. Pay attent— Lu Han?” Jongdae interrupted himself, trying to get Lu Han’s attention, even going as far to snap his fingers in Lu Han’s face. Lu Han just lifted his hands to his face, cheeks beet red and hot to the touch. “Oh, c’mon. Not Minseok. He’s my friend!”

“When does he work?” Lu Han said. Jongdae rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t  _ you  _ ask him that? I’m not gonna tell you that personal stuff.”

“Jongdae, I thought you were my friend!” Lu Han exclaimed, practically whining.

“Barely,” Jongdae said with a grumble. “If you’re gonna stalk my friend, at least figure it out on your own.”

Lu Han whined for a moment, his complaints falling of deaf ears, as Jongdae moved from machine to machine, having Lu Han spot him the entire time.

At the end of their session, as it was Jongdae’s turn to spot Lu Han on the leg press, Lu Han saw Minseok walking out from the employee room, freshly showered and casually dressed. It was almost like the weights suddenly tripled in mass, Lu Han’s legs going weak and feeling the pressure fall down on him all at once, as Jongdae scrambled to keep the press from completely bearing down on Lu Han’s frame.

“Lu Han! Lu Han, you’re the  _ worst!” _

  
  
  
  
  


That was nearly a month ago, and Lu Han was still going strong with his... interest. Calling it stalking was a little mean, he thought. He wasn’t  _ stalking  _ Minseok. It was a friendly crush. 

Lu Han had since mostly figured out Minseok’s schedule, except for one or two days when Lu Han thought maybe Minseok had a flexible time with a client. For now, Lu Han would linger around the gym almost every weekday for an hour or so, just to get a glimpse of Minseok. On a couple occasions, Lu Han had even gotten a few conversations in with Minseok, before he had to leave, or risk embarrassing himself like he had so many times before. 

Once he had even tried taking a drink of water by squeezing his water bottle into his mouth, and missed so horribly, he ended up shooting the stream right into his eye. That earned a big laugh Jongdae and the gym staff, including Minseok. Lu Han swore he wouldn’t show his face there for at least a week after that, but ended up there the next day when Minseok said he was planning on teaching a zumba class, and wow, that was  _ wonderful  _ to have a seat at.

And, despite Jongdae’s constant nagging, Lu Han did actually enjoy being around Jongdae, hanging out with him in a place where they could both be sweaty and gross and out of breath together. Jongdae didn’t mind indulging him in talk about Minseok sometimes, too.

“You work tonight, right?” Jongdae had said as the two were both on stair-steppers, Lu Han practically out of breath. Jongdae hardly seemed to break a sweat. Lu Han wheezed, felt a sharp pain in his side when he breathed in, before wincing and nodding.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?” he said, trying his hardest to sound put together, but instead, sounding all too rushed and in pain. Jabbing at the “stop” button, Lu Han took a few steps down, before collapsing on the ground in a heap. He took a few deep breaths in and stared at the ceiling. God, the stair stepper really kicked his ass. Minseok wasn’t there that day, so Lu Han didn’t have to worry about looking a certain way (not that he came off as anything but anxious to Minseok anyways, but whatever).

“Just curious. Aren’t you gonna be tired later?” Jongdae said, slowing to a stop and hopping off the machine a beat after.

Lu Han waved it off like it wasn’t anything serious. “I take naps before work all the time, I’ll be fine.”

“Mmhm. Need some help?” Jongdae offered his hand to Lu Han, who easily took it and struggled to his feet. “How about the elliptical next?”

“Thank god,” Lu Han said, taking a deep breath in and racing Jongdae to the machines in a heartbeat.

  
  
  


After a long nap, Lu Han pulled on his work clothes, did his hair, tried his best to look a little more presentable than he usually did, considering his boss had called him out the past couple nights for looking sloppy. He was right, but Lu Han didn’t want to admit it. After all, he was just a  _ bartender,  _ it’s not like he had an actual uniform or anything, but apparently t-shirts and jeans were only acceptable, like, maybe twice a week.

So for now, Lu Han tugged on a pair of slacks and suspenders, over a casual button-up, and called that his outfit for the night. He decided to forego the tie, because honestly, he was already dressed up a lot more than usual. Then he went and tugged on a pair of sneakers and snagged his wallet and keys from the table near the door and started his short walk to work.

Sighing, Lu Han walked into work after the short commute it took to walk there, waving at the other bartender he was working with that night, who so happened to be Zitao. He had just recently started, was a little too meek to be working in such a demanding job, but Lu Han liked him enough. Even if he didn’t work out as a coworker, Lu Han thought he was a nice enough guy to be a friend.

“How’s it going?” Lu Han said with a yawn. Zitao shrugged.

“Night’s just starting. I don’t think it’ll be busy or anything, though.” Zitao hummed. “Anything new happen with your crush at the gym?”

“Hey!” Lu Han said, walking behind the counter to clock in at the computer, and nudging Zitao away from it with a grumble. “Don’t be so loud about it.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Zitao said, holding his hands up in defense. “I just think it’s really cute how much you like him. It reminds me of when I was in high school.”

“Oh, what, like a year ago?” Lu Han teased, to which Zitao’s face burned red, and he jabbed Lu Han’s shoulder in embarrassment.

“I’m not nineteen,” he groused. Lu Han rolled his eyes, made to roll the sleeves of his shirt up, and figured the rest of the night would be a breeze.

“Right, right, you’re 20 years old,” Lu Han waved off. “Still a baby. Seriously, you’re barely old enough to drink, let alone serve them.”

“Shut up!”

As the two went back and forth, completely focused on one-upping each other, they hardly noticed the group of people trickling in through the doors, one by one in a big group. Two people approached the bar counter out of the group, one clearing their throat and waiting for Lu Han or Zitao to pay any attention. 

It was Zitao to look first, before Lu Han followed his gaze, found himself staring at Minseok, outside of the gym, and Jongdae right beside him, a sly grin on his face, growing as soon as Lu Han’s face burned bright red in embarrassment.

“Hey!” Minseok chirped, sounding much too casual for the situation. Lu Han could already feel his heart beating out of his chest, how his palms grew sweaty. Immediately he stuffed his hands into his pockets, tried so hard to remember what he looked like when he was  _ casually talking to someone that made his knees weak and took his breath away,  _ but god, he couldn’t even focus now.

“Did you just get here?” Jongdae said, like he didn’t already know Lu Han’s schedule from their conversation earlier. Lu Han immediately turned his attention to Jongdae.

“I hate you,” he said without thinking, to which Minseok quirked a brow, laughed when Jongdae pouted.

“I didn’t do anything! I even brought my friends here to get drinks and everything.” Jongdae huffed, looking Lu Han up and down before walking away to rejoin his group of friends, who had settled on a booth in the far corner of the bar, loud and raucous already. Jongdae pulled out his phone to take their drink orders, while Minseok lingered at the bar, taking a seat at one of the stools and leaning on the counter with a sigh.

“Long night ahead of you?” Minseok said. Lu Han startled at the sound of his voice, how smooth and subtle it sounded. Lu Han swallowed hard and nodded.

“W-well, not really, but, like, I have my shift, and then I go home and sleep for a little, and then we... Jongdae and I go to the gym together. That’s usually when I see you there, too, at the gym, also.”

Lu Han resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands and scream. What the hell was he even saying?

“I’m surprised you work overnights like this. With the way you’re at the gym all the time, I would’ve thought maybe you were a businessman or something.”

Lu Han didn’t know why that made him blush, but it did, as he nodded. 

“I mean, I haven’t gone to school for anything yet, so this is just to save up some money, and, y’know... pass the time.” Lu Han gestured vaguely with his hands, trying to look anywhere other than at Minseok. 

Even glancing at what he was wearing knocked the air right out of Lu Han’s chest. Minseok donned a casual hoodie with sleeves just slightly too long for his arms, and dark jeans, and his hair styled back so Lu Han could see his flawless complexion. God, even in what he was wearing now, Lu Han felt severely underdressed.

Before Minseok could speak again, Jongdae was back with drink orders, including a round of shots. Lu Han and Zitao began pouring them up quick, making sure to engage the other customers at the counter as well, welcoming them while Lu Han tried his damndest to ignore how Minseok sat at the counter, his thumb at his lip, toying with his bottom lip like he was  _ trying  _ to say something about it. Lu Han took a deep breath in, told himself to calm down. He was acting like some hormone driven teenager right now.

“Lu-ge,” Zitao said, catching his attention as they began setting the drinks down on a tray to take over to the table. “Who’s that?” he said, and nodded towards Jongdae, who was making his way back to the bar counter once again to bother Lu Han, probably tease him some more.

“That?” Lu Han said. “That’s my stupid friend.”

“Oh,” Zitao quipped. Lu Han squinted at Zitao, who seemed to hurry and finish the drinks, setting them on the tray and shoving it to Lu Han. “You better take these, since they’re your friends.”

“Zitao, are you....” Lu Han trailed off, to which Zitao flushed in embarrassment, before walking away and attending to the other guests at the bar, trying his hardest to stay away from Jongdae. Lu Han couldn’t believe it. Jongdae of all people? Seriously? Jongdae really wasn’t that much of a looker either.

Minseok stood up from his seat, started toward his table of friends, and took a seat in the booth as Lu Han made to hand out the drinks. Lu Han set down the shot glasses in front of each of them. Minseok jerked to the side, one of the friends snaking his arm around his waist and pulling him in close, seemingly already a little tipsy. To be fair, Lu Han often took shots before going to a bar, just to expedite the process, but this guy was a little sloppy drunk.

And even so, that didn’t make it any easier to watch that stranger have their arm around Minseok like that, nor did it soften it when Minseok laughed and leaned in a little bit.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Lu Han said after running Jongdae’s card on the small tablet he carried around. Minseok jutted his hand out for Lu Han, grabbed his wrist before apologizing and letting it go.

“Do a shot with us?” he said. Lu Han furrowed his brows, before shaking his head.

“I’m, uh, at work. I can’t drink on the job.”

“Isn’t that a thing bartenders get to do?” The person beside Minseok said. “Have a little fun with us!”

Immediately turned off by the stranger beside Minseok, Lu Han rolled his eyes and shook his head again. “No, but thanks.”

Without saying another word, Lu Han joined Zitao back at the bar, trying his hardest to ignore the rowdy group in the corner of the bar, and instead focused on his well tipping customers, smiling and serving them, and laughing at their horrible jokes in exchange for some short banter and a nice tip at the end of it all. 

When Jongdae and Minseok came back for a second round of drinks, Lu Han sent Zitao to deal with it, despite Zitao’s very loud objections against it. Thankfully, Yixing came into work just as Zitao took their huge order, so he and Zitao could double team it, while Lu Han focused on his first customers. Seriously, he didn’t even want to look over in that corner. How could Jongdae be so inconsiderate, too? He  _ knew  _ Lu Han liked Minseok. Did he really have to burst his fantasy so harshly?

By one in the morning, the group was already wasted, loud, even Jongdae was ugly laughing and singing along to the cheap karaoke machine they had for the bar. Zitao seemed  _ completely  _ infatuated with Jongdae, smiling when Jongdae laughed or when he fell out of his seat and straight onto the bar floor, laughing even louder.

Eventually, they all rose from their seats, rushing out of the bar to get some fresh air, with Minseok trailing behind. Jongdae was carrying the stranger who had been touching Minseok earlier. He was definitely wasted now, if Lu Han couldn’t have guessed by the way he was acting earlier.

Before he left, Minseok managed to worm his way up to the bar, not bothering to take a seat at the bar this time. Instead, he handed Lu Han a bill, folded up.

“Here. For dealing with us.”

“Jongdae already tipped, twice,” Lu Han said, feeling a little petty. If it were any other time, he would gladly take it, but he kind of enjoyed seeing the bewildered look on Minseok’s face.

“No, really. My friends are loud, we appreciate you guys accommodating us.”

Lu Han saw a customer waving him over at the other end of the bar, sighed and looked back at Minseok. “Give it to Zitao when he comes around, I have a lot of work. I’m glad you had fun, though.” Lu Han bit his lip, then added, “drive safe, okay?”

Without waiting for Minseok’s reaction, he walked away, to the other side of the bar, trying to ignore the strange heaviness in the pit of his belly, as he saw Minseok and Zitao talking, Zitao taking the bill from Minseok and nodding his head. Then Minseok left.

Being petty didn’t feel all that great, Lu Han thought, but pushed it away, in exchange for remembering that he’d be off work soon, and then he could go home, and maybe skip the gym the following morning.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Despite his best attempts to ignore Jongdae’s constant barrage of texts asking him when he’d be coming back to the gym, Lu Han eventually gave in and started going back. Instead of going at his usual times, though, he’d go late at night, after playing basketball with Jongdae and the rest of them, or maybe immediately after getting off work, so he could go straight home after that, shower, and sleep.

And, like, if he was being honest, Lu Han could admit he started changing his schedule to avoid Minseok, because it was really, really obvious.

But that would mean admitting his feelings got a little hurt that night, by something that really shouldn’t have been such a big deal. After all, he wasn’t dating Minseok. Minseok hadn’t even expressed interest in him like that, so why should it matter?

Zitao completely validated his feelings at work, though, so Lu Han felt he was a little less ridiculous for avoiding Minseok the way he was.

Jongdae, thankfully, never mentioned it. He just tagged along with Lu Han when he could, and apologized for being unavailable when he couldn’t. This could work, Lu Han thought. And eventually, he could go back to his regular times at the gym, and maybe Minseok would stop looking his way, and Lu Han would stop losing his breath every time, but for now, this worked.

Walking into the gym, Lu Han had already stuffed his earbuds in, vaguely greeted the front desk workers before heading in and putting his wallet and his keys away in a locker. Then he headed up to a treadmill. He had really been slacking on his cardio as of late, probably because he was trying to keep his mind off of Minseok, and doing the same repetitive walk didn’t help take his mind off of it.

Lu Han stretched a little before hopping on the machine, jabbing his thumb at the start button and picking the pace up quick. His music transitioned from a soft pop song, to his workout playlist, much more drum and bass focused, to keep his pace up while he was on the treadmill.

Finally, Lu Han was at a comfortable pace, started taking in breaths with each stride, and turned his attention to scanning the room, as he usually did. Tonight, it seemed pretty empty, other than a few people on the weights and two friends talking to one another by the water fountain. 

Lu Han wondered if Jongdae would be able to join him the next day, because as much as he didn’t like to admit it, having Jongdae there was a nice motivation. They were competitive by nature, so they challenged each other to push further, harder than they normally would. 

For a split second, Lu Han’s mind wandered to Minseok, and immediately, he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself, looking back down at his shoes and counting his steps instead.

He glanced up once he had calmed his wandering thoughts, tried to watch the television screens in front of him instead. New movies, music videos, the news, some popular TV shows— all of them played at once. Lu Han kept his mind on walking, as he turned the pace to the treadmill up more, to a brisk walk.

Really, the smart thing to do about this whole situation, Lu Han thought, was to just switch gyms, or maybe just be upfront with Minseok and tell him he just didn’t want to talk to him anymore, despite the fact that they hardly spoke before. Still, there was that nagging part of him that couldn’t quite forget how Minseok’s expression fell when Lu Han rejected his tip at the bar, that uneasy upset in the pit of his belly when he remembered seeing another peron’s arm around Minseok’s waist. That wasn’t a normal reaction to have, Lu Han thought, especially for someone who wasn’t even interested in him.

After a few minutes, Lu Han decided when he saw Minseok again, he would just be as kind as he could be, but nicely try and avoid him from then on. They barely knew each other anyways, so Lu Han shouldn’t have been so jealous over nothing.

Lu Han glanced at the timer on the treadmill. He had been on it for thirty minutes already, walking at the same pace. He’d better pick it up, he thought, before turning it up to a casual run, his hands up at his sides as he picked up one foot after the other.

Yeah, next time he saw Minseok, it’d be really chill, he said to himself, nodding his head with his pace. He’d just pretend everything was fine, and maybe apologize for acting too weird, and then just keep his distance.  _ So  _ smart, he thought, before scanning the room once more. 

A few more people had filtered in, including a younger woman over by the weights, nervously twiddling her fingers and looking around the room. She looked nervous, eyeing everyone in the room, like she was worried they were staring at her for just being in the same space. Lu Han decided to look away, right as somebody began to approach her, all toned muscle and dressed in workout clothes, and brown hair styled back in a mini ponytail.

Wait.

Lu Han’s brain took a moment to process everything he was taking in, as the man in front of the young woman began to gesture towards the weights, and then at himself, up and down, as he and the young woman seemingly began to stretch. Clapping his hands, the man went to stand beside the woman, doing the same stretches she was, and turning to face Lu Han.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, Lu Han saw Minseok’s face, his eyes going wide for a brief moment. When Minseok continued stretching with the woman, Lu Han thought maybe he had enough time to jab at the stop button on the machine, and start gathering his things to leave. Yeah, that’s the ticket, he thought.

But, there was a hesitation. Lu Han didn’t really want to leave. He wanted to stand there and ogle Minseok, and pretend like he didn’t see his “friend” grab onto him like that, like Minseok wasn’t already unavailable enough to him.

In that moment of hesitation, Minseok scanned the room, saw Lu Han, made eye contact with him— and lifted his hand to wave at him, before gesturing at the young woman to hold on.

And in all the time Lu Han had been crushing on Minseok, he thought maybe he had gotten a better grip on himself and how Minseok made his legs turn into jelly, but Lu Han was definitely wrong. As soon as Minseok made to walk over to Lu Han, he could already feel his knees starting to buckle. Despite his best attempts to pull the emergency stop on the machine, Lu Han’s legs gave out underneath him, and a second after, he was on the floor of the gym, staring up at the ceiling, wondering why he was the way he was.

Minseok ran over first, crouching down beside Lu Han and shaking him to get a reaction.

“Lu Han! Are you okay?”

Lu Han just flickered his eyes over to Minseok, his expression hardly changing, before nodding his head.

“You sure? How many fingers am I holding up?” Minseok lifted up three, to which Lu Han closed his eyes and lifted his hands up to his face.

“God, this is so fucking embarrassing,” he grumbled. Minseok took a second to react, sputtering through a breath before laughing and shaking his head.

“That’s what you’re focused on? Being embarrassed?” Minseok teased. “Here, let’s get you over to a bench,” he said.

Lu Han easily started to stand up, but took a seat on the bench while Minseok sat down beside him and held onto his arm.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, you seem okay, but one second I was looking at you, the next you were on the floor.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Lu Han replied, tone flat. “I just can’t believe I did that.”

“Nobody else was looking before you fell, at least,” Minseok said. “We can blame it on the treadmill, if you want.”

“Thanks,” Lu Han deadpanned again. 

In the silence that followed, Lu Han tried to find the best way out of this situation. He could definitely tell Minseok he just wanted to go home, and that would probably get him out of it, but was it the best way? Maybe he could feign illness.... But what if Minseok wanted to take him to the hospital?

“Hey, don’t you have a client?” was what actually came out of his mouth. Minseok seemed to flinch at the way he said it, blinking through the surprise before stuttering.

“Oh, you mean that girl up there,” Minseok said, gesturing towards the weights. “That’s my baby sister. She just wanted some tips, so that’s why we’re here.” Pausing, Minseok leaned in towards Lu Han. “I haven’t seen you around lately.”

Ouch. The way Minseok said it sounded like a jab at him. Lu Han shrunk away at the tone in Minseok’s voice.

“Must just be our schedules,” Lu Han said, a lame excuse. Minseok hummed, seemed to gloss over it pretty quickly.

“Hey, did Zitao happen to give you the tip I left that night?” Minseok said. Lu Han quirked a brow. “That night at the bar, when we were leaving. You said to leave it with Zitao. Did you get it?”

“Oh, no. He must’ve forgotten,” Lu Han said. Zitao forgot stuff like that a lot. “I mean, he can just keep it, he served you guys way more than I did.”

There was a brief moment where Minseok seemed to study Lu Han’s expression, the apples of his cheeks going pink and the tips of his ears a bright red. Lu Han tried to ignore how his heart fluttered at the sight of it.

“Uh?” Lu Han said.

“It’s just... it wasn’t the money I was worried about getting to you, so much as what was inside of it.”

Lu Han was unsure of what to say to that, because what the hell did that even mean? Pausing again, Lu Han let out another, “uhm?”

“The money. There was a paper rolled up in it, and I was really hoping you’d take it, or at least Zitao would give it to you, b-but....” Minseok trailed nervously, before shaking his head, as if trying to shake the anxiety out of himself. “It had my number in it.”

And honestly, if Lu Han didn’t know better, he would not have guessed this was the same Kim Minseok he had met so many times before, suave and confident, all grins and reassuring smiles. Now, Minseok was visibly nervous, his normally self-assured posture now hunched over, as if trying to make himself smaller. His ears were burning bright red now, along with a blush spreading across the bridge of his nose and the curves of his squishy cheeks.

Definitely not the Minseok he served that night at the bar, but it was the same one, because he sounded like him, made Lu Han’s knees buckle and breath escape him the same as it always did.

“I mean, I thought maybe you had gotten it, and just, like, didn’t want to see me after that,” Minseok said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Which is fine! That’s fine, if you’re uncomfortable or if I overstepped, but I really thought....”

Dumbfounded, Lu Han couldn’t even find the right thing to say. Everything he thought of got lost in the midst of Lu Han’s complete disbelief of what Minseok was saying to him. 

“Anyways, are you sure you’re okay?” Minseok finally turned and met Lu Han’s gaze again, and saw the way Lu Han’s eyes flickered between his eyes, his lips, his hands. “Lu Han?”

“You were trying to give me your number?” Lu Han said. Minseok’s eyes widened, before he blushed even more.

“Well... yeah. I mean, I tried.”

“But— but, why?”

“What kind of question is that?” Minseok said, shoving at Lu Han’s shoulder, with hardly any force. He looked a little put off by the question. “You’re just really....”

Stupid? Disappointing? A disaster on two feet? Lu Han thought all these to himself.

“Cute.”

The word didn’t register to Lu Han until Minseok’s ears were a bright scarlet red, as he twiddled his fingers in front of him and looked down at the floor to keep from meeting Lu Han’s completely dumbfounded expression.

“Cute?” Lu Han said. “What, like, hamster cute? Like, a dog cute?”

“What? No,” Minseok said, immediately laughing and trying to hide his face behind his hand. “You’re cute, y’know. You’re attractive. I think you’re  _ really  _ attractive, Lu Han.” Minseok tried to regain some of the confidence he usually carried, and cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you on a date, but I didn’t want to be pushy either. That’s why I left my number, so you could text me whenever you wanted to.”

“O-oh....” Lu Han trailed off, before taking a long breath in and trailing out again. “Oh my god, I’m so dumb.”

“No, I’m the dumb one. I should’ve taken the hint,” Minseok said. “You don’t like being around me that much, I really shouldn’t have needed so many signs.”

“Wait, Minseok, no!” Lu Han rushed out. “That has nothing to do with you at all! I mean, it does, but it’s not you, it’s because every time I see you, my legs get all weak, and I have to grab onto something. A-and sometimes, you look at me, and it’s like all the air just gets knocked out of my chest, and I have to leave because you’re just so  _ gorgeous.  _ Like the first day I met you! I stopped spotting Jongdae because you walked out!”

“Oh, that’s why you almost killed him?” Minseok said. Lu Han couldn’t help ugly laughing at that. “I thought maybe you’d just had enough of his shit.”

“God, sometimes I do, but— but, no, seriously, I’ve had this embarrassing teenager crush on you since I saw you,” Lu Han admitted. “I thought it was stupid.” With a pause, Lu Han turned away, too embarrassed to face Minseok and say it. “I actually got jealous when you brought your friends in to the bar.”

“Really?” Minseok said. “But why?”

“One of your friends was being really handsy,” Lu Han said, tried his best to keep it under his breath.

“That’s Sehun!” Minseok said, lifting his index finger up and smiling, like it made it any better. “He’s the youngest in our friend group. He’s such a brat,” Minseok said. “Also, he was pretty drunk before we got there. He probably would’ve done that with just about anybody who sat next to him.”

That softened the sting a lot more than Lu Han expected it would, because honestly, it was still bothering him.

“That’s really cute, though,” Minseok added in, nudging Lu Han with his arm and catching his attention. “You were jealous? Of my friend?”

“Sh-shut up,” Lu Han groused, looking away once more.

Minseok hardly hesitated to speak again, reaching over and tugging at Lu Han’s hand.

“Hey, if... if you’re still open to it, I’d love to take you out.”

Lu Han immediately perked up, meeting Minseok’s gaze and swallowing hard against the knot in his throat, the butterflies in his stomach.

“I’d really love that,” Lu Han agreed all too quickly, loved how Minseok smiled after that, flustered and happy, blushing. 

When Lu Han stood up to program his number in Minseok’s phone, text him, and then give him a quick hug before leaving, he leaned on the wall when Minseok was walking away from him, back to his sister, like they didn’t just make plans to go on a date together. His legs still felt soft, uneven, and Lu Han realized he grew to love that feeling. He hoped it never went away.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! as always, let me know of any mistakes in writing or prose!
> 
> will link twitter and cc once posting is finished! ♥


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